The invention relates to the treatment of immunoinflammatory disorders.
Immunoinflammatory conditions are characterized by the inappropriate activation of the body's immune defenses. Rather than targeting infectious invaders, the immune response targets and damages the body's own tissues or transplanted tissues. The tissue targeted by the immune system varies with the disorder. For example, in multiple sclerosis, the immune response is directed against the neuronal tissue, while in Crohn's disease the digestive tract is targeted. Immunoinflammatory disorders affect millions of individuals and include conditions such as asthma, allergic intraocular inflammatory diseases, arthritis, atopic dermatitis, atopic eczema, diabetes, hemolytic anaemia, inflammatory dermatoses, inflammatory bowel or gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, pruritis/inflammation, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, cirrhosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.
Current treatment regimens for immunoinflammatory disorders, transplanted organ rejection, and graft versus host disease typically rely on immunosuppressive agents. The effectiveness of these agents can vary and their use is often accompanied by adverse side effects. Thus, improved therapeutic agents and methods for the treatment of immunoinflammatory conditions are needed.